From here on out, I'll do three recaps per season: one for off-season, one for regular season and one for post-season. Here is the 2018 off-season in review.

2018 OFFSEASON

After winning the 2017-18 championship rather easily, with a 70-12 regular season and 16-3 playoff run, GM Lyman Witherspoon opted not to reinvent the wheel. While Jonathan Simmons, Noah Vonleh and JaVale McGee were let go, Portland added guard Malcolm Brogdon in free agency and center Ivica Zubac through a trade with the Lakers. Furthermore, promising swingman Troy Brown Jr. fell to the Blazers early in the second round.

This draft has been compared to the legendary 1984, 1996 and 2003 drafts. Indeed, the first four picks, DeAndre Ayton (WAS), Luka Doncic (SAC), Michael Porter Jr. (ATL) and Ryan Kent (SEA) are all expected to be perennial all-stars.. The Lakers, hoping to finally return to the post-season, acquired Thunder center Steven Adams on draft night.

There is a lot of optimism that the Clippers, with Durant, Griffin and a healthy Chris Paul, could be a threat to win it all this season. However, they'll have to do it without DeAndre Jordan who signed with the Kansas City Knights for a shit load of money. Carmelo, finally not saddled by La La, was able to follow his dreams and sign with the Sacramento Kings... LaMarcus Aldridge left the Spurs after three seasons to sign with the Orlando Magic, because why not.

Running back last year's team for the most part, the Blazers are favored to win it all again. However, the Clippers, Warriors, Lakers - maybe even the Spooky Wolves, have them in their sights. And then in the East there's always LeBron and the Cavs, as well as the Bulls (now with Pat Beverley), Sixers and Bucks.

The Trail Blazers entered the 2018-19 season as overwhelming favorites to repeat as champions. They backed that up with a dominant opening night win over the Chicago Bulls, in which they received their rings. Aside from a disappointing home loss to the Cavs, Portland was dominant in the month of November. However, injuries would put a damper on things. First, Rudy Gobert went down with a knee injury. Then, McCollum hurt his ankle. Both starters missed several games, but the team remained at the top of the standings.

Evan Turner and Thomas Bryant would miss significant time as well, but Portland wasn't far off its 70 win pace by the all-star break. Damian Lillard made the all-star team, but disappointingly, Harry Giles did not make it, despite averages of 19 and 10 as the second option on the best team in the league... Notably, rookies Ryan Kent (more on him later) of Seattle and Michael Porter Jr. of Atlanta made the all-star team. Other first-timers included Markelle Fultz, Kris Dunn (!) and Jahlil Okafor. Inexplicably, Derrick Rose made the team as well.

Gobert went down AGAIN in March, but should return for the first round of the playoffs. Ivica Zubac took over the starting role, as Thomas Bryant was useless, somehow shooting only 35% from the field as a Center. Portland would struggle down the stretch, losing five in a row. However, they ended up finishing the season on a six game winning streak to hold off Golden State for the #1 overall seed, and post an excellent 64-18 record.

Damian Lillard wasn't as efficient as last season - not only missing out on MVP, but also on any of the all-NBA teams. Between this and all-star snubs for Giles and McCollum... is there an anti-Blazers bias in the media?

Seattle narrowly missed the playoffs, but rookie Ryan Kent looked like the second coming of Jordan, averaging over 30 points per game! However, this may have something to do with their coach playing all their starters 48 minutes per game, barring injuries and fouling out. He may be fired this season...

Steph Curry reclaimed his MVP crown, and led his Warriors to a 60 win season. Can he get them past Portland this year, with a roster that doesn't seem to be that much better than last year's?

Kent took home rookie of the year, but a dozen rookies averaged double digit scoring. The top four (Ayton, Doncic, Porter, Kent) all appear headed for superstardom.

Chicago missed the playoffs - R.I.P. Hoiball. Entering the post-season, Portland, Golden State, Cleveland and Washington appear to be the top title contenders.

The Memphis Grizzlies made their ninth straight playoff appearance, good for the second longest streak in the league. Credit new coach Jason Kidd, sixth man Tyreke Evans and their aging duo of Conley and Gasol for that. But they didn't really have any business being there, and it showed in the first three games, in which the Blazers shellacked them. However, a ferocious comeback led to an overtime game 4 win for the Grizz. And then Wade Baldwin had the game of his life, flirting with a triple double in game 5, which they only lost narrowly. Portland 4 - 1 Memphis

The Blazers move on to face the Clippers, who ousted the Lakers in 7 games to win the first ever "Hallway Series". Notably, the Warriors took 7 games to knock out Melo, Doncic and the Kings, Aldridge and the Magic became the sixth 8 seed to win a series, eliminating the Sixers, and the 2 seed Cavs were knocked out by the Celtics.

In another rematch from last year's playoffs, the Blazers take on CP3, Blake, KD and the Clippers. Last year's win was marred by Chris Paul's ankle injury, but this year the Clippers are at full strength (albeit without DeAndre Jordan, who plays for KC now). Blazers swept 'em though. Harry Giles, who Doc traded for Meyers Leonard on draft night, was absolutely dominant. Only games 1 and 3 were remotely close as LA was outclassed.

All 3 of Portland's Western Conference series will be rematches, as Golden State knocked out the Spurs in 6.. Meanwhile the young Bucks, led by Fultz and Antetokounmpo will square off against the Pistons for a spot in the finals.

Once again, haters will give the Blazers' championship run an asterisk, as Steph Curry is out for the season. In his place? Rookie Blaz Mesicek. Yeah... This series was actually closer than expected. Games 1 and 5 were up in the air, but Portland ultimately finished 'em off in five games. Mesicek did pretty well, shooting poorly but managing a triple double in their game 3 win. The Blazers advance to the finals to face...

Milwaukee was the #6 seed for two reasons: the dumb "new" division winner policy, and Giannis missing the first half of the season. However, he's back and the Bucks rolled through the Eastern Conference. But this young team is good, and deep.

Despite 46 from Markelle Fultz, the Blazers eked out a win in a high scoring game 1. Portland won game 2 in a drubbing. In a must-win game 3, Fultz went off again, but Giannis struggled, as did Jabari Parker. The Blazers won, and would take game 4 to sweep the finals and repeat as champions.

Not sure which one I am more surprised by, a Bucks-Pistons ECF or the Kings actually making the playoffs and pushing Golden State to 7 games. Didn't know Melo still had something in him! Grats on the back-to-back! Now for a three-peat

After winning back-to-back titles, GM Witherspoon played it fairly safe with the Blazers. However, on draft night, he did trade away sixth man Evan Turner to the Kansas City Knights for Norman Powell in a cost-cutting move. Portland extended Rudy Gobert and Al-Farouq Aminu as well, and their opening night roster ultimately looked like this:

But with everything continuing to look rosy in Portland, Witherspoon gave the team notice that he would be leaving to manage the New York Knicks, effective at the end of the season. The Knicks apparently offered him a mammoth amount of money to run them, and its easy to see why, as they finished with just 31 wins.

Portland was favored to repeat as champions yet again. However, Rudy Gobert went down with a season ending injury in February. Portland would go 53-29 and get the 2 seed, beating Denver and Minnesota to get to the WCF. However, they missed Rudy's defensive presence too much, and lost in 7 games to the Warriors. Golden State would go on to beat the 76ers in six games to win the championship.

And so now Witherspoon takes over the New York Knicks, a team that has been rudderless for a long time, but has a boatload of cap space, as well as the #4 pick in the draft. Stay tuned.

Thanks man. They had me scared in game one. Absolutely could not stop Fultz. However, since I started this way back in September, Giannis is underrated and was a no-show most of the series. They should be a threat down the road though.

Three seasons was enough with the Blazers. As much as I wanted to repeat and get Giles that all-star berth, I was getting pretty bored. Sadly (spoilers), they imploded in my absence.

Oh, the Knicks. How are they doing, here in the Summer of 2020? Well, Melo leaving the team to sign with the freaking Kings of all teams might give you a hint. The team went 31-51 in the 2019-20 season, with Derrick Rose being the leading scorer. Porzingis remains the franchise player, and has steadily improved in his five seasons in the league, despite still never having made an all-star team. David Blatt is the coach, but he might be on the chopping block. It might be time to clean house!

There are only four players signed on for next season: Porzingis, Kenneth Faried, Brandon McCoy and E.C. Matthews. I have no idea why they got Faried... McCoy is a center who was a lottery pick in 2018. While currently in that passable starter/great backup tier, he's got some legit potential. Matthews was taken in that same draft, and is a solid shooter. Coming off the books are the corpse of Joakim Noah, Moe Harkless, Kay Felder, Dion Waiters, Wesley Johnson, Festus Ezeli, Ian Mahinmi and, of course, D-Rose. I might bring a couple of those guys back on minimum contracts. Rose... has actually been pretty decent, but is plan D or E, as I want to use the $50M or so of cap space on a star or two...

After the Blazers' brief run of dominance, the Golden State Warriors are once again the team to beat, and to beat them, we'll need STARS.

The Draft

We had the fifth pick in the draft. Outside of Nikita Kasparov, who is supposed to be a generational talent and a lock to go #1 to the Clippers, the talent pool didn't look too deep. Shopping the pick, I aggressively pursued Andrew Wiggins, because he seems like a Rudy Gay-type of player who would be great in 2K. The Wolves wouldn't bite, despite me offering basically everything except for Porzingis for him. Probably for the best, as I didn't want to become the new Billy King, and because of what happened next.

Denver, apparently looking to rebuild yet again, offered up Nikola Jokic for the 5th pick. Though it felt like cheese to do so, I had to take this offer. However, I also wanted to clear some cap, so I made it a three-team deal, sending Faried to Dallas, and Dwight (on the Mavs for some reason) back to the Nuggets. I think we might have the Gobert trade beat, folks.

Free Agency

With about 50 mil in cap space, the first thing I did was offer Chris Paul a two year, $70M contract. A bit more than his market value at this point, given his age and injury history. But for two years, it's a fairly low-risk move, which gives us a legit big three. While he mulled that over, I went to work, adding Harrison Barnes (2 years, $16M) and Malcolm Brogdon (4 years, $25M) to unrealistic discount deals. CP3 accepted, and we had our starting five: Paul, Brogdon, Barnes, Porzingis and Jokic. Not bad!

Felder, Wes Johnson and Mahinmi re-signed for the vet minimum. To round out the roster, I added some pretty solid ring chasers in Allen Crabbe (wonder if I can trade him for Gobert again...), DeMarre Carroll, Patrick Patterson and Blazers legend Shabazz Napier.

Going into next season, analysts predict that the Warriors, 76ers, Trail Blazers, Lakers and Knicks will emerge as the top title contenders.

It was a very rough start to the season for the new-look Knicks. After winning the season opener vs. the Bulls, they would drop 9 of their next 11 to drop to 3-9. Porzingis went down with an injury that kept him out for a month, and other players were in and out of the lineup. Thanks largely to the brilliance of Chris Paul and Nikola Jokic, the Knicks began to figure it out, and were around .500 when Porzingis returned in January.

Nikola Jokic made the all-star team. Unfortunately, Harrison Barnes broke his patella, ending his season. This meant that Allen Crabbe and Demarre Carroll would take turns as the starting 3. The Knicks would go on an epic 14 game winning streak before Jokic went down for the year with a spinal injury. They nonetheless managed 53 wins and got the 4 seed.

After an up-and-down season, New York posted the second best record in the East (getting the 4 seed due to the Wizards winning the division. However, the injury to Jokic puts immense pressure on Porzingis, as well as third year center McCoy. In the first round is the Toronto Raptors, a deep team still led by the aging guard duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

Brandon Ingram led the Lakers to a 60 win season, and is the league MVP, while Nikita Kasparov made the all-star team and was the unanimous RotY for the other LA team. The Lakers, Warriors, Wizards and 76ers headline the top contenders heading into the postseason.

2021 NBA PLAYOFFS

In the first round, the Knicks faced the Raptors. Though the first three games were close, the Knicks were able to win them all. Second year guard Roderick Moreland replaced DeRozan in the starting lineup, and Toronto eked out a game 4 win. However, that would prove a gentlemen's sweep, as New York closed them out in five.

The #1 seed Wizards were upset by Michael Porter Jr. and the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, and so the Knicks earned homecourt advantage in the East. This would be a very hard-fought series, going to seven games. Unfortunately, the Knicks blew a fourth quarter lead in game 7, and were ousted from the playoffs.

Atlanta would go on to face the Philadelphia 76ers, who secured their second straight Finals berth by beating them in 5 games. The Warriors beat the Spurs in the WCF en route to their fifth finals appearance in 7 years. The Warriors once again defeated Philadelphia. securing back-to-back championships. Stephen Curry was Finals MVP.

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With Jokic and Barnes absent for the playoffs, many expect the Knicks to try again next year with a healthy roster. However, multiple sauces report than GM Witherspoon could make another big off-season trade.

The New York Knicks lost their all-star center, as well as their starting small forward to injury, but still came within a game of the conference finals. It would make sense to run it back with that same team, right?

Right?

But Lyman Witherspoon had different plans. The GM famous for wheeling and dealing dealt both Nikola Jokic and Harrison Barnes, as well as backup shooting guard E.C. Matthews, to Minnesota for Andrew Wiggins and Gorgui Dieng.

The trade gives the Knicks a player who can create his own shot, something they desperately needed at times during the playoffs. In Dieng they get an expiring contract and serviceable backup big. For Minnesota, they finally end the Wiggins-Towns era after winning just one playoff series in six seasons. With Towns and Jokic, they have what could be an all-time great frontcourt. Or maybe they will prove that two star bigs simply can't coexist in the modern NBA. Minny wins the trade on talent, but issues of injuries and fit could come into play.

New York continued their off-season by adding Nicolas Batum, Tyreke Evans, Ben McLemore and the corpse of Serge Ibaka to their bench. They also drafted "black Boban" Georges Fulton, a 7'4", 300+ lb beast from France, as well as a couple filler players.

Witherspoon rolled the dice this off-season, and expectations will be sky-high for Andrew Wiggins and Brandon McCoy. Coach Tyronn Lue might be under the microscope as well. With uncertainty about whether this will be Chris Paul's last season, the Knicks have the potential to overshadow the Warriors' bid for a threepeat.

So, my computer broke, so no pics in this recap. New one should be arriving in a few days, but in the meantime, enjoy this brief overview of the 2021-22 regular season, featuring Andrew Wiggins!

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2021-22 NBA Regular Season

As many expected, the Knicks did not get the better end of the Wiggins deal. A somewhat inefficient volume scorer whose numbers have essentially been identical in all seven of his NBA seasons, Maple Jordan was not that third star player that the Knicks were hoping he'd be. Fortunately, that third star turned out to be young center Brandon McCoy.

Despite being snubbed for Most Improved Player honors, McCoy had a breakout year, averaging a double double and establishing himself as one of the league's top defensive centers. He and first-time all-star Kristaps Porzingis comprised the East's best frontcourt tandem, as the team overcame some minor injuries to finish 52-30, good for the #2 seed.

Chris Paul hinted at retirement all year, but GM Witherspoon was able to convince him to play one more season after this. Despite missing a handful of games, CP3 continues to be an elite point guard.

The bench was a question mark going into the season, but was a major strength. Nic Batum was one of the league's top sixth man, Tyreke an effective backup for Paul, Dieng a serviceable backup big and Ben McLemore a solid reclamation project. Heading into the playoffs with a healthy squad, the Knicks are a top favorite despite only having the league's fourth best record.

MVP D'Angelo Russell led the Lakers to a 60 win season and the #1 seed out West. Gregg Popovich's Chicago Bulls are the top seed in the East, with NY, Cleveland and Philly holding homecourt in the first round. Seattle's Ryan Kent, who apparently shares a name with a soccer player, continues to stake his claim as the league's best player.. The 2017 and 2018 drafts comprise nearly half of the all-star rosters!

The Knicks open up their playoff run against the Charlotte Hornets, who feature Kemba Walker, all-star Dennis Smith, Isaiah Thomas and the Process himself, Joel Embiid.

The first round of the playoffs was strange! It felt like the NHL with lower seeds winning series left and right. Most notably, both 1 seeds lost in the first round, as the Lakers lost to Phoenix in 7, and the Bulls fell to the Pacers in 6. Fake 1 seeds all around apparently. Anyway, the Hornets sucked. Only game 3 wasn't a blowout, but either way, the Knicks were fairly dominant as they sweep the LOLcats.

New York wins series 4-0.

Round 2: (2) New York vs. (3) Cleveland

It looked like the Cavs would be a pushover, after the Knicks took the first two games. However, Cleveland won comfortably in game 3. Wiggins went off in a narrow game 4 win, but the Cavs overcame a double digit fourth quarter deficit to steal game 5. Kyrie dropped 44 in game 6, but the Knicks narrowly edged them out behind stellar performances from Brandon McCoy and Porzingis. Bring on the Sixers!

New York wins series 4-2.

Round 3: (2) New York vs. (4) Philadelphia

With their big three of Ben Simmons, De'Aaron Fox and Jahlil Okafor, the 76ers were no joke, as evidenced by their back-to-back Finals appearances. So it wasn't a huge shock when they stole game 1 in New York. The Knicks bounced back with a blowout win in game 2, and eked out a win in game 3, before being blown out themselves in the fourth match. Game 5 would be pivotal, but McCoy's 20-20 performance helped them win in OT. Game 6 was somewhat anti-climactic, as a disheartened Sixers team folded on their home floor.

New York wins series 4-2.

THE FINALS: New York (52-30) vs. Golden State (50-32)

Despite being the 4 seed in their conference and winning just fifty games, the Warriors were a top title contender, given their status as back-to-back champs! But New York blew them out in games 1 and 2, and came close in game 3, before coming up short. With momentum back on their side, Curry and Klay went god mode, winning game 4 in blowout fashion, and then stunning New York in game 5.

At the Oracle with a chance to close out their third straight title, the Warriors faithful were stoked for game 6. However, they laid an egg, losing by 40 (!) as CP3 went to town on them. And so, there would be a game 7. In a match-up between two of the highest profile franchises in the league, there was Super Bowl-type hype for this match-up. Would the Warriors three-peat, or would CP3 and the Knicks finally break through?

The former. Steph dropped 40, the Warriors owned the glass, and game 7 as MSG went to the Golden State Warriors, 131-115. Spike Lee was not happy.

And so the Knicks' title draught hits 49 seasons. With Chris Paul on board for one more season, they can take one last crack at it with this core. But CP3 is a free agent.. Will he even stay?